Inner Demons
by Miss-Sweet-Factor
Summary: Sakura embarks on a highly dangerous S-Class mission. Who will she meet along the way? Will her life change completely or just her personality? *in-progress*
1. Chapter 1:The Decision

**Chapter 1: The Decision **

**Sakura POV.**

It was late in the evening when it all began.

An ANBU operative knocked on my window and told me I was being summoned to the Hokage tower. I got dressed in something decent and made my way there.

The street lights were lit up in the village as I jumped from roof top to roof top. The brightest ones were in front of the hospital. I had only finished my night shift there an hour ago. Maybe Lady Tsunade wanted me to go back? I certainly hope not. I may be a qualified medic-nin but that doesn't me I like to work over time. Could it be a mission?

**'I hope not, I'm fucking tired of her alcoholic attitude. We see her more than enough on a regular basis, so why now at 2am?' **

_'Because it is our-__**my**__ obligation to serve the Hokage of this village no matter what time it is Inner and if you have opinions about it, keep them to yourself.'_

**'Whatever, just be careful Sakura, she's probably drunk as a skunk'**

I arrived at the tower and made my way to Lady Tsunade's office. I knocked twice on the door and I heard someone say "Enter". As I let my self in and I noticed someone else's presence in the room.

"Shikamaru?" I said to him as I walked closer to the Hokage's desk. Why the hell would his lazy ass be here so early in the morning?

"Ahh, you're here too, Sakura? How troublesome." He replied. Shikamaru as stoic as ever, but he looked worn out. Stupid Tsunade waking everyone. That pineapple hair still bewilders me, even when he has bed head.

**'How annoying, he needs to learn some manners' **Inner grumbled in my head. I rolled my eyes mentally.

I looked up at Tsunade, and she also looked tired. But that's what you get for becoming Hokage. And not to mention the sake bottles hidden behind those stacks of paper.

"Ok ok now that you are both here, let's begin." She said with the sound of impatience in her voice. "What I am about to say here is completely and utterly confidential. I have a mission for both of you, but it will mainly involve you Sakura. It is S-Class and highly dangerous. You could die."

"What does this mission involve Shishou?" I asked. Inner was getting restless and I was definitely curious.

"The Akatsuki." She replied.

There was dead silence throughout the room. Was this related to Naruto? Could they be planning something to hurt him? Or the village?

"What does the Hokage of the Leaf want us to do with the Akatsuki?" Shikamaru asked. I honestly don't know how Shikamaru stayed so calm. Runs in the family I guess.

**'HELL YEAH! FINALLY SOME ACTION! LET'S GO KILL SOME CRIMINALS!' **and Inner was now giving me a migraine.

Lady Tsunade cleared her thoat and continued. "I want them eliminated. They are becoming a thorn in my side and it needs to be ripped out. And its not just me. The Elders are questioning why it hasn't been done yet. So I have chosen you two for the job. You will be infiltrating the Akatsuki and taking them down from the inside. Once you gain their trust, I will give you word of when to eliminate every single one of the bastards."

"I'm sorry but, Shishou why would the Akatsuki even be stupid enough to accept both of us?" I asked.

"They aren't dumb." Shikamaru stated as if it was a world known fact.

"Correct. Shikamaru will be staying here. You, Sakura, will be gaining their trust. Shikamaru will be… sort of a liason for you in connection to me." Tsunade sure knew how to intimidate a girl.

"Why me Shishou?" I asked, "Aren't there better jounins more suited for this mission?"

"Sakura, you are a qualified jounin _and _medic-nin with ANBU experience. Who else would I pick other than my own apprentice to trust with a mission such as this?" She sounded sincere.

I stayed silent. Its one of the many times she praises me.

Tsunade continued, interrupting my silence "To make sure you are recognised as a missing-nin, you must complete this task before you leave." She handed both Shikamaru and I a scroll.

I opened mine up and skimmed the page.

**'So all we got to do is rob the Leaf Village of its most prized scroll and we're done with this shit hole?'**

_'Inner, shut it. This is for the good of the village, not for you.'_

**'Yeah yeah MissGoodyTwoShoes'**

"Once you steal the scroll, Sakura, you will sell it to a business man, also known as Shikamaru and he will bring it back to the village under secrecy."

"How will Sakura keep in contact?" Shikamaru asked Lady Tsunade. The only genius I know who still asks questions.

"By using the Swift Wind Commute Jutsu that Sakura and I developed. It is very simple and undetectable. So in other words-"

"-Sakura wont be in danger of getting caught contacting the Leaf"

"Exactly. And you, Shikamaru will be in charge of her needs. Such as depositing money, information and anything she needs, at safe points on this map here."

She presented a small tattered map on her desk.

"Study them, seeing as your life depends on it, Sakura." Tsunade stated.

"Hai, Shishou." I replied.

Tsunade let us mull over the information for a few minutes. Then came the question.

"Well? Do you accept under the terms that you know you may not be coming back from this mission Sakura? Will you serve this village as its protector?

This felt like the most important decision anyone could ever make. Would I die? Or never be able to come back to the village due to treason?

**'Take a risk Sakura. You never know, maybe some things might change for the better? **

_'And what about the worse? I would become an S-Class Missing-nin and be hunted by any and all other villages. I could die and never see Naruto or Kakashi or Sai or even… Sasuke ever again. I would be betraying everyone I know. How is that for the better?"_

**'Well, someone once taught me that if you don't do something then the opportunity may never come again.'**

…..

…..

…..

"I accept."

**A/N: **How did you like it? I'll get to writing a chapter 2 ASAP. I'm pretty keen to see this come together. And also I apologise this is my first fic so I may not be up to speed on my writing. I do have ideas for pairings as of the moment and those include the amazing Itachi Uchiha and Sakura Haruno. YAYAYAYYAYAY AKATSUKI YAYAYAYAYYAY. Don't forget to leave a review. ok Bye

-Sweet 3


	2. Chapter 2: Betrayal and Acceptance

**Chapter 2: Betrayal and Acceptance**

**Sakura POV.**

After the meeting and the greatest maybe even the stupidest decision of my life, I ran back to my apartment to gather my things together in preparation. Tsunade said everything was to go down tomorrow night.

**'I am starting to feel odd emotions from you Sakura. OddOddOdd feelings. Chickening out already?'**

I decided I would give her an answer later as I heard some movement downstairs in the kitchen. I looked up at my clock and it read 6:03am. Kaa-san must be up and cooking breakfast already.

**'Wait… that drunk Hokage kept us for 4 hours! ARE YOU KIDDING ME! WE NEED BEAUTY SLEEP TO BE BEAUTIFUL' **

_'Obviously you imbecile'_

I stopped packing and I realised something.

_'I'm going to have to leave her. My own mother. She will see me as a traitor to the village.'_

**'It was your decision Sakura. Remember I am ignorable.'**

_'Do not try to talk away your part in this decision! I understand that I made my choice and I deserve the consequences. But I just didn't think of the outcome'_

**'No. You just thought of protecting the village.'**

_'But what about my friends and family? Did I consider them in all this?_

For the first time in a long time Inner stayed silent, which made her the incredibly odd one. I decided to head downstairs to the kitchen. I needed to see her. To make sure she knew I loved her. Even after everything. I loved her. I would never betray my own mother.

"Oh, good morning Sakura." Kaa-san greeted me as I entered the kitchen. Her appearance was always perfect in the morning. She had deep red hair just above her shoulders and dark blue eyes. And she was dressed in today's clothes whereas I am dressed in plain smelly clothes from yesterday.I don't understand how someone who got up at 6am everymorning could look so presentable.

"Morning Kaa-san." I greeted her back and sat down at the dining table. Breakfast smelled wonderful.

"Did you just get back from the hospital? I thought you were supposed to be back around midnight?' She asked.

"Yeah, they needed me to stay back longer. Some chunins came back from a mission badly injured. It just took until now to fix them up." I answered.

'_I am lying to her now. Great just fucking great.'_

**'Kami-sama Sakura, grow up, you use to do it all the time when you were a brat. How is that different to now?**

_'Screw you'_

"That's not good, I hope they recover." Kaa-san came over and placed some food in front of me.

Miso soup with tamagoyaki and dumplings. My favourite. She always serves this when I am home from missions. Kaa-san sat down across from me, said _'Itadakimasu' _and began eating.

I too began shovelling food down my throat. I hadn't eaten since my dinner break last night.

It was a quiet breakfast. Which was nice, just to sit with her and enjoy the time I had left. After she finished eating she started conversation.

"What are you going to do today? Sleep? I believe Naruto-kun wanted to see you today with the rest of the team?" Kaa-san said.

Sleep sounded amazing. "Naruto has a mission with the rest of the team today." I answered. Tsunade told me she was sending everyone from team 7 out of the village while I began my mission. Just to be safe.

"Are you going with them?"

"No. Tsunade gave me the day off." Which was the best thing she has ever done.

**'I'll say. Drunk Hokage never gives us a day off.'**

"They can handle it." I smiled at her.

"Alrighty then, well, I am going for my spa day with Ino's mother in about two hours. I'll be gone most of the day, so you get peace and quiet to sleep."

"Ok. I love you"

"Love you too baby. Have a good sleep" She got up and went to the kitchen to clean the dishes.

**'SleepSleepSleepSleepSleep now please Sakura?'**

I finished my breakfast, washed up my dishes and headed back to my room. I finished packing all the essential items for my mission. Extra ninja clothes, civilian clothes, all my weapons which I sealed in a scroll. Tsunade told me to take as much money as possible just incase I lost touch with them. I labeled that one important.

**'You gonna take anything else? Come on Sakura.'**

I walked over to my bedside dresser. The portrait of the genin team 7. Should I take it?

No… It's just a reminder of hurtful memories.

_'We use to be happy. I did at least.'_

**'If Sasuke was ever happy the whole universe would implode. That boy never smiled when we were friends. Naruto on the other hand smiled to much and definitely still does. Its like the sun burning our eyes with that much orange. And Kakashi is just odd. Like you. Except you don't read porn.'**

I burst out laughing.

_'Thanks Inner. And when have I ever been late to a meeting? That man is an irresponsible idiot.'_

**'True.'**

I put the portrait in with the scrolls in my bag. After everything was packed and sealed away in scrolls, I went to sleep. I had no dreams. If I did I assume they would be nightmares about this mission.

*time skip*

I awoke at 5:30pm. I had slept for nearly 10 hours.

**'Hey long time no annoy. Feel better?'**

_'Much better. Except now I am more anxious than ever'_

I grabbed the mission scrolls Tsunade gave me and began to study every detail of them. All the safe points she was talking about seemed to be in remote non- populated areas. Which could be to my advantage. I was to meet the business man 'Shikamaru' I was selliing the scroll to on the border of Fire Country. A small village there. After that, I was on my own. I had to track down the Akatsuki and find a way into their ranks.

Which was going to be difficult.

I heard the front door open and slam. "I'm home Sakura! There's food here if you want it. If not its going to the fridge!" Kaa-san yelled from downstairs.

I looked at my clock and it was already 7pm. I had been studying and decrypting these scrolls for over an hour.

I stopped and hid them. If Kaa-san found them I don't know what would happen.

_'I'll burn them later'_

I went downstairs and grabbed my dinner from Kaa-san. It was dango. Another favourite.

"How long did you sleep?" She asked.

"About 10 hours" I admitted feebly.

She sighed. "Feel better?"

"Yeah, I'm wide awake now. How was your spa day?"

"Oh absolutely wonderful! I feel completely relaxed so don't get me angry! We had so much fun just being away from home and out and about." She said a little too cheerfully.

"That's good. Everyone needs a day off."

"I'm heading to my room dear, I bought a nice little book and I am excited to start reading it" She told me. After that Kaa-san kissed me goodnight and went upstairs to her room.

"I love you." I said even though she was gone. At least she was happy on her last day with me.

I ate my dango quickly and went back to my room. I burned the scrolls relating to the mission with a fire jutsu and double checked my equipment,

I was ready.

**'Are you sure?'**

_'If I'm not I still have no choice. I accepted this mission and it is my obligation to fulfill it.'_

I secured my equipment bag and a black cloak with the hood up.

Now it was time to wait.

* * *

**No Ones POV.**

It was quiet. Not that a library isn't usually quiet. But the room was tense. It was always like this when guarding dangerous weapons that can be used against you. Even if it was a room full of paper made weapons.

Four chunin stood guard at the Konoha-Nin Library. Two guarding the main entrance and two inside guarding the target.

All of a sudden a chakra spiked inside the library. A hooded figure appeared in the middle of the guarded room, surrounded by cherry blossom petals.

"Stop right there," said the taller one of the chunin's. "Who are you?"

The intruder stayed silent.

"I'll alert the Hokage," the smaller chunin told his comrade. He then went to the closest wall, bent down and pressed a button underneath a shelf.

An alarm sounded.

"Don't do anything stupid."

It was now or never.

The intruder charged both the chunin. With weapons drawn they proceeded to fight back.

But before they could even attempt to fight, the intruder disappeared. And then they were both knocked out.

**Sakura POV.**

I landed just behind Izumo and Kotetsu. Poor guys, they never stood a chance against my speed.

_'Now. Which scroll is it?'_

**'Why not try the big revealing looking one over there?'**

_'Quit being bitchy.'_

I grabbed the scroll she was talking about and double checked it was the right one.

_'The Scroll of Sealing? You figured they would have it in a more secure place since Naruto stole it.'_

**'Yeah but is Naruto smart enough to get past two chunins with making a lot of noise?'**

_'Hey we did technically trip the alarm.'_

**'Shut up.'**

I strapped the scroll to my back and exited the library. I jumped from roof top to roof top towards the village main gate.

**'This is it! WE ARE FINALLY LEAVING!'**

_'Why are you so happy?'_

I never received an answer as a kunai came from in front of me planning to maime and kill. I dodged it easily and kept heading straight for the main gate.

**'Here comes the tricky part.'**

The main gate was barricaded by 14 Leaf-nin. I began forming hand signs for a genjutsu. There was no point fighting them up close and personal, this was much easier.

"Illusionary Technique: Crimson Massacre" I said. All these chunin level ninja would now be dealing with their own deaths. Mentally of course, I would never kill a fellow comrade. I based this jutsu off of the Sharingan's Tsukuyomi. It's just deals less damage. They all collapsed after a few seconds.

**'Yeah, and no one dies.'**

I jumped over their unconscious bodies and made it through the main gate. I pumped chakra through my feet to increase my speed. I needed to get out of as quickly as possible.

_'That seemed awfully easy. Tsunade must have done something.'_

**'Stupid Hokage making it easy for us? We need the challenge! CHA!'**

_'Oh boohoo. Get over it you whiner.'_

**'If you called me a whiner, does that mean you are calling yourself one?'**

_'Shut it'_

**'You just told yourself to-'**

I tuned out the rest, I needed to find somewhere to hide until tomorrow morning.

*Flashback*

_"Find a safe and secure spot near the border. Try not to be seen by anyone. You need to be able to meet Shikamaru without any difficulties." _Lady Tsunade explained.

*End of Flashback*

After a few moments of thinking, Inner and I both agreed that staying in civilian villages wasn't safe. Even with a henge, it would be to risky. And I am not going take any chances.

I arrived at the border after two hours of non-stop running and I have to admit my legs were shaking from the pain.

There was a nearby tree to position myself. I set a few traps just to be safe and put on a henge just incase someone wonders along.

**'Well, at least we are safe?' **Was Inner trying to reassure me? If she was, she is definitely terrible at it.

_'For now. The easy part is over.'_

**'Fine, be a let-down.' **

_'I'm just saying, that its going to be tough from here on out. There is not going to be time for anything but the mission.'_

**'As Shikamaru would say, how troublesome.'**

**A/N: **Hello again! WOW chapter 2 already... Just letting you know I may not introduce the Akatsuki until chapter 4. And I will definately try to update once a week, but if you don't here from me I will be stuck with school or something else would have come up. Also if I finish a chapter early I will most likely post it. SO you might get a bunch at once or non til the next week.

Please leave a review, give me feedback if I need to change or add anything about my writing.

Thanks! Bye

-Sweet 3


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